New grocery store coming to Danbury

Dirk Perrefort

Updated 10:50 pm, Monday, November 26, 2012

Bill Britton of PriceRite, right, announces the wholesale grocery chain, a subsidiary of ShopRite, will open at the site of the former A&P supermarket in Danbury at a press conference Monday, Nov. 26, 2012.
Photo: Michael Duffy

Bill Britton of PriceRite, left, is intorduced by Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton who announced the wholesale grocery chain, a subsidiary of ShopRite, will open at the site of the former A&P supermarket in Danbury at a press conference Monday, Nov. 26, 2012.
Photo: Michael Duffy

Bill Britton of PriceRite, left, is intorduced by Danbury Mayor...

Bill Britton of PriceRite, left, is intorduced by Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton who announced the wholesale grocery chain, a subsidiary of ShopRite, will open at the site of the former A&P supermarket in Danbury at a press conference Monday, Nov. 26, 2012.
Photo: Michael Duffy

Bill Britton of PriceRite, left, is intorduced by Danbury Mayor...

Brigid Guertin, executive director of the Danbury Museum and Historical Society, accepts a donation from Jim Dorey on behalf of PriceRite as Bill Britton of PriceRite, right, announced the wholesale grocery chain, a subsidiary of ShopRite, will open at the site of the former A&P supermarket in Danbury at a press conference Monday, Nov. 26, 2012.
Photo: Michael Duffy

Brigid Guertin, executive director of the Danbury Museum and...

This is the PriceRite market in Bridgeport. Company officals say the proposed market on Main Street in Danbury will look similar.
Photo: Contributed Photo

DANBURY -- A new grocery store on Main Street will help fill a shopping need in downtown Danbury while providing jobs and continued investment in the heart of Hat City, officials said Monday.

PriceRite, a Wethersfield-based discount supermarket chain that touts "inconceivably low prices every day," plans to occupy the former A&P building at the south end of Main Street.

The company hopes to open by next spring and hire as many as 130 full- and part-time workers, officials said.

PriceRite is the sister chain of ShopRite and has 50 stores in six states, including two stores in Bridgeport.

The owner of the former A&P building, David Brause of Brause Realty Inc., said he and PriceRite officials plan to invest more than $5 million to renovate the store.

"It's been more than 20 years since this building has been updated," Brause said, adding the building has been a home to grocery stores since Grand Union opened there more than 50 years ago.

Jim Dorey, vice president of marketing for PriceRite, said officials have considered entering the Danbury market for some time.

"It's a great area that we've been looking forward to serving," Dorey said.

Dorey also said PriceRite routinely beats competitors' prices by up to 50 percent. The company keeps prices low by offering a limited lineup of products while maintaining brand-name labels.

"While some stores may offer 40 kinds of peanut butter, we may only offer three or four," he said.

When the A&P store closed in March, seniors and others who relied on the market -- especially people without a vehicle -- needed to find another place to buy groceries.

Brause said he received many calls from interested businesses, but he chose to keep a grocery store on the property because of the outpouring of concern from the community and city officials, including Mayor Mark Boughton.

"It was clear that having a grocery store here is an integral part of the community's fabric," Brause said.

Hundreds of seniors and disabled residents live nearby in five apartment buildings. Many have relied on shuttle services offered by the Housatonic Area Regional Transit system to shop at other area grocery stores since the downtown A&P closed.

"The seniors have been asking about this for a long time," said Susan Tomanio, director of elderly services for the city. "While the shuttle has been a great help, it wasn't a permanent solution. We are very excited to see a new grocery store will be occupying this space."

Officials said the customer base for the PriceRite store should extend beyond downtown Danbury.

"We expect this will be a destination that will attract shoppers from neighboring communities," Boughton said, adding that he was "thrilled" with the investment PriceRite is making in downtown Danbury.

"This is a great development for the city's downtown and our continued revitalization efforts," said Bruce Tuomala, economic development director.

PriceRite also gave $7,500 to the Danbury Museum and Historical Society, a donation company officials said only marks the beginning of their community involvement.

The museum owns part of the parking lot that has been leased to previous grocery store tenants. Boughton said PriceRite has agreed to extend the arrangement.

"Originally, we had hoped that they would buy the property," Boughton said. "But in the end, a lease served everyone's interests."